Best Selling Books by Pat McKissack

With an extraordinary gift for suspense, McKissack brings us ten original, spine-tingling tales inspired by African American history and the mystery of that eerie half hour before nightfall—the dark-thirty.

Because she is the oldest, Carolyn assumes she is loved the best. But she has doubts when her mom spoils Carolyn''s little sister when she''s sick and posts her brother''s perfect math quiz on the fridge. Illustrations.

Tippy Lemmey, the neighborhood dog, is a nuisance and sworn enemy to the local children, but when Tippy gets in trouble, only Leanne, Paul, and Jeannie can help him.

"Tell the truth and shame the devil," Libby''s mama has told her. So whatever is Libby doing wrong? Ever since she started telling only the truth, the whole world seems to be mad at her. First it''s her best friend, Ruthie Mae, who gets upset when Libby tells all their friends that Ruthie Mae has a hole in her sock. Then Willie gives her an ugly look when she tells the teacher he hasn''t done his homework. It seems that telling the truth isn''t always so simple. Children will sympathize with Libby as she struggles to figure out that even though it''s always wrong to tell a lie, there''s a right and a wrong way to tell the truth. Giselle Potter''s naively stubborn illustrations perfectly capture this humorous and poignant story by award-winning author Patricia C. McKissack.

In segregated 1950s Nashville, a young African American girl braves a series of indignities and obstacles to get to one of the few integrated places in town: the public library.

Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist and storyteller, was an active writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In recent years her work has received renewed attention recently due to the efforts of the writer Alice Walker. Give your readers a compelling look at this talent.

Profiles the life of Sarah Breedlove, also known as Madam C. J. Walker, the black laundress who founded a cosmetics company and became the first female self-made millionare in the United States.

In 1886 in Alabama, an eleven-year-old African American girl and her family befriend and give refuge to a runaway Apache boy.

From the beginning of Reconstruction to the present, traces the struggle of blacks to gain their civil rights in America, with a brief comparison of their problems to those of other minorities.

Examines the civilizations of the Western Sudan which flourished from 700 to 1700 A.D., acquiring such vast wealth that they became centers of trade and culture for a continent.

Young David Earl always knows what day of the week it is, because his mother, Ma Dear, has a different apron for every day except Sunday.

Erased by Time In 1619 twenty Africans stepped foot on American soil. They came not as slaves, but as indentured servants. They knew if they could hold on and finish out their sentences, they would be free. They came with dreams of the future and a vision of life as good as any other person''s, black or white. Who were these people? How did they get here? What happened to them? Much of the information about them -- even their names -- has been lost. Stories about them are incomplete, and facts are blurred by centuries of neglect. But their stories are worth knowing and keeping and sharing, for they are a part of the American saga. This is their story.